"Robert Burdick, the immigrant ancestor of the Burdick family, came to Newport, Rhode Island from England in 1651. Robert Burdick was admitted a Freeman of Newport on May 22, 1655, and a Freeman of the Colony of Rhode Island on May 20, 1657. He married Ruth Hubbard, the first white child born at Agawam (now Springfield...the photo above is a view from Provin Mountain, the highest point in Agawan) Massachusetts on November 2, 1655. Robert Burdick gained early notoriety during a land dispute between the colonies of Rhode Island and Massachusetts over a tract of land known as the Pequot Country -- land taken by the English colonists in the Pequot War of 1637 -- which is now situated, largely, within New London County, Connecticut. Boundary disputes had been going on for some time between Massachusetts and Connecticut over land within the Pequot Country, but the conflict in this instance was primarily between Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The dispute was centered upon a small settlement located in Pequot Country, between Mystic and Pawcatuck, which, in 1658 was named Southertown, and which, today is mostly contained within Stonington, Connecticut and a small part of Westerly, Rhode Island. In October 1658, the colony of Massachusetts laid claim to this settlement, declared it to be a plantation with the name of Southertown, annexed it to Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and appointed special commissioners and a constable to administer the new plantation. In the meantime, the colony of Rhode Island purchased land in a transaction known as the Westerly Purchase to add to its Narrangansett settlement. Included in the Westerly Purchase was some of the land within the boundaries of Southertown. A group of Rhode Islanders, including the Newport farmer, Robert Burdick, and his neighbors Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke, laid claim within the new settlement. In retaliation for the Massachusetts claim to Southertown, the Rhode Island Assembly sent out the warning to all settlers within the area of dispute that their land would be confiscated if they put it under the governance of another colonial government (e.g. Massachusetts). On September 30, 1661, William Cheseborough, an early settler of Southertown from Plymouth Colony, testified before the General Court of Massachusetts of his concern that some thirty-six inhabitants of Rhode Island had come into Southertown and had divided and laid out lots. The General Court of Massachusetts issued a warrant to apprehend the Rhode Island men who had settled in Southertown. A stand-off ensued, and Robert Burdick, Tobias Saunders and Joseph Clarke were arrested (although Joseph Clarke was "upon extraordinary occasion ... set at liberty.") For two years, the colony of Rhode Island attempted, unsuccessfully, to negotiate the release of Burdick and Saunders. As a last resort, Rhode Island authorities abducted two Massachusetts officials, who were then exchanged for the release of Robert Burdick and Tobias Saunders. The issuance of the Charter of Connecticut by King Charles II on April 25, 1662 fixed the eastern boundary of Connecticut at the Pawcatuck River. Southertown was situated within this boundary, and thus under the jurisdiction of Connecticut. Later, the British Crown settled the conflict by dividing the disputed land between Connecticut and Rhode Island. The land where Robert Burdick had settled was awarded to Rhode Island, and became part of the area known as Westerly. The land that was awarded to Connecticut became part of the area known as Stonington. After his release from prison, Robert Burdick settled on the same land he was taken from and inprisoned over. He and his wife, Ruth, had eleven children, nine of whom survived to adulthood and had children of their own. He served as a deputy to the General Court of Rhode Island from Westerly for the years 1680, 1683 and 1685, and he was one of the earliest members of the Seventh Day Baptist Church (the Sabbatarians)."
Below is the list of the Burdick children, all born in Rhode Island:
1656 Thomas
1658 Naomi
1660 Ruth
1662 Sarah
1664 Roger
1665 Sarah
1666 Benjamin
1668 Samuel, our ancestor
1670 Tacy
1674 Robert
1676 Hubbard
ROBERT BURDICK, SR.
BORN: 1625 in Devonshire, England
MARRIED: 1655 in Newport, Newport, RI
DIED: 25 Oct 1692 in Westerly, Washington, RI
RUTH HUBBARD
BORN: abt 11 Jan 1640 in Agawan, Springfield, Hampden, MA
DIED: 1691 in Westerly, Washington, RI
SOURCES: WFT742,vol.1Robert's birth information; Source comments:
ABBR 1998-Leon Stiles, researcher and WFT198,vol 4 marriage of Ruth Hubbard to Robert Burdick; ABBR 1998-Leon Stiles and WFT742,vol.1TITL re Robert's death information; : "A Genealogical Dictionary of The First Settlers of New England", Vol. 1 pg 301; WFT198,vol4wft,E-1=AGAWAM Ruth's birth; Abridged Compendium of American Genealogies ppg. 907, 518, 970; Osgood: American Colonies in the 17th Century ppg. 367 -369; Rhode Island Records 1636 - 1663 vol. 1, ppg.302 - 303 - 356 -455 - 456 - 462;U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about Robert Burdick, Name: Robert Burdick Arrival Year: 1651 Arrival Place: Newport, Rhode Island Source Publication Code: 1262 Primary Immigrant: Burdick, Robert Annotation: Date and place of settlement or date and place of arrival. Names not restricted to the Order of Founders and Patriots of America. Source Bibliography: COLKET, MEREDITH B., JR. Founders of Early American Families: Emigrants from Europe, 1607-1657. Cleveland: General Court of the Order of Founders and Patriots of America, 1975. 366p. Page: 52; Collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society" vol. III pg. 117; Ruth HubbardBirth Date: 1640Birthplace: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode IslandVolume: 86Page Number: 75Reference: Elder John Crandall of RI. and des. By John Cortland Crandall. New Woodstock, NY, 1949. (20,797p.):7-8 A genealogical dict. of the first settlers of New England, showing three generations of those who came before May, 1692. By James Savage. Boston. 1861. (4v.)v.2: 485 Gen. Column of the \" Boston Transcript\". 1906-1941.( The greatest single source of material for gen. Data for the N.E. area and for the period 1600-1800. Completely indexed in the Index.): 24 Dec 1931, 2413; 27 Jan 1932, 2413; The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, \"FamilySearch,\" database, FamilySearch (http://familysearch.org : 1 Jun 2016), entry for Robert Burdick, person ID LC8X-PC7'
